Mechanism for making tinsel fabric



Aug. 17, 1937. H. RuBlNs'rElN MEGHANISM FORMAKING TINSEL FABRIC FiledAug. 2, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HRR/ey Fa/Ns Taf/v Allg- 17, 1937 H.RUBiNsTEm 2,090,554

MECHANISM FOR MAKING TINSEL FABRIC Filed Aug. 2, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 24a f l Her/FY Paa//vsxg//v Patented Aug. 17, 1937 UNITED STATES Y PATENToFFicE 12 Claims.

The invention relates to the manufacture of knitted fabrics of thenovelty type particularly adapted for millinery and other purposes, andembodying tinsel.

In knitting fabrics of this type it has been customary to make use oftinsel thread comprising a cotton or other core about which the tinselis helically wound. 'I'his particular material is imported and isexpensive, the result being that such novelty fabrics are excessivelycostly to produce.

It is with the above facts in view -that I have devised the presentinvention which contemplates an attachment for an ordinary circular typespring needle knitting machine whereby domestic inexpensive tinsel inthe form oi a plain fiat or untwisted narrow strip may be successfullyused by laying it in with the threads of a knitted fabric. It hasheretofore been difficult to use the plain tinsel, one trouble being thenecessity for winding it off from the spools on which it is supplied tothe trade and onto the bobbins of the knitting machine, and anotherobjection being that during said winding there is considerable danger oftwisting the tinsel with the result that it is very easily broken.

An important object of my invention is therefore to provide anattachment for a knitting machine to` take the place of as many bobbinsas may be desired, depending upon the design of the fabric, and by meansof which the tinsel carrying spools may be supported and the tinselunwound directly therefrom and laid into the fabric without beingpreviously Wound onto the standard type of bobbrns with which suchknitting machines are equipped.

Another important object is to provide a novel method of making suchtinsel fabric involving simply laying in the tinsel in contradistinctionto knitting it in so that the resultant fabric willl not beobjectionably heavy and so that the tinsel will not come clear throughto the reverse side and will therefore be prevented from contacting theskin of a wearer.

A more specific object is to provide tinsel spool holding means adaptedto rest gravitationally upon the rods commonly provided at the top of aknitting machine, the spool holder being, moreover, of such constructionthat a spool may be quickly and easily changed.

1 AnadditionalI object is to provide mechanism of this character whichwill be simple and inexpensive to make, convenient v-to use, eiiicientand time saving, and a general improvement in the art.

To the attainment of the foregoing and,other objects and advantages, theinvention preferablyv consists in the detailed construction and themethod steps to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one form ofspool holder constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is an elevation,

Figure 4 is a detail section on the line 4 4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a simplied form of the device,

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6 -5 of Figure 5, I

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view,

Figure is a detail perspective view showing one end of the adjustingbolt,

Figure 9 isia front elevation of yet another modification,

Figure 10 is a section taken on the line III-III of Figure 9,

Figure 11 is an enlarged expanded elevation showing a fragment of onepattern of fabric which can be produced by my invention,

Figure 12 is a sectional view therethrough. Y

Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral I5 `designates apair of the supporting rods provided upon the top of a well known typeof circular knitting machine for instance the standard variety put outby The Wildman Manufacturing Company of Norristown, Pennsylvania, thoughthe invention is not necessarily limited to this specific machine. Thenumeral I6 indicates a portion of the common stop motion. Other detailsof the machine are unnecessary to a proper understanding of the presentinvention and are therefore neither shown nor described.

In carrying out the form of the invention disclosed in Figures 1 tov4, Iprovide an inverted U-shaped yoke I1 having parallel resilient arms I8and equipped at its bight portion with an inverted U-shaped frame I9secured in place in any convenient manner as forinstance by screws 20.Located between the free endfportions of the resilient arms I8 is aspindle 2| having tapered ends 22 journaled through small holes in thearms. This spindle is provided at one end with a fixed sleeve 23 and atits other end with a slidable collar 24 adapted to be held in adjustedposition lengthwise of the spindle as by a set screw 25. The sleeve 23and collar 24 are formed with tapered portions 26 arranged inconfronting relation and adapted to engage within the ends of a spool 21carrying tinsel 28 which, in accordance with my invention, is simply aflat 5 strip of thin metal of greater width than thickness incontradistinction toa thread circular in cross section such for instanceas the imported variety which consists of a cotton or other thread corewrapped with tinsel. y Tinsel of the type that I use is supplied to thetrade on' two sizes of spools, one being wooden and the other metal. Theadjustability of the collar 24 along the spindle 2l takes care` of thetwo sizes and types'of spools. The spindle is clamped between the armsI8 by virtue of the fact' that the arms I8 are urged toward each otherand into engagement with 'the pointed ends 22 of 'the spindle by a setscrew 29 which is threaded through one arm of the frame I9 and whichengages the adjacent arm I8 for urging it inwardly or flexing it.

The device is used by placing it at the desired location with the bightof the yoke engaging upon the pair of rods I5. This position may bemain- 25 tained and the device prevented from moving about by means of apair of elongated curved springs 3l secured as at 3I upon theconfronting faces of the arms I8 and having outwardly divergent freeends 32 bearing upwardly against the 30 rods. The tinsel 28 is threadedthrough the stop motionA device I6 and led into the machine. It needhardly be mentioned that this stop motion device is one of the ordinaryvariety provided for the purpose of stopping the machine in the event ofbreaking of a thread. IThe number of spool holding devices and theirlocation with respect to the knitting stations depends of course uponthe pattern of the fabric desired to be made. The cams and otherelements of the machine, not

shown, are so adjusted that the tinsel is not knitted but is simply laidor iloated into the fabric. 'I'he advantage of this is that the weightof the finished fabric is kept as low as possible and the tinsel isprevented from `extending through to the reverse side, thereby avoidingits contacting with the skin of the wearer. While a wide variety ofpatterns may be produced, Figures 11 and 12 show, respectively, anenlarged expanded elevation of a fabric and a sectional view through l5o thesame. It is intended thatthe tinsellbe laid in with very littletension on it`so that it will appear upon one side of the fabric and inraisedloose relation thereto, that is to say such is the 5 erally Ushaped yoke 33 having inwardly offset resilient arms 34' carryingsupporting members 35 with tapered ends 38 adapted to engage within theends of a spool and to be held therein by virtue of the provision of abolt 31 traversing the I 70 yoke having at its head end flattened sides38 located within a keyhole slot 39, which permits detachment, andhaving at its other end a wingr nut .10. This form of the device issupported upon the rods I5 and used in identicallythe same man- 75 neras the rst described one but has the advantage of consisting of fewerparts and therefore costing less to manufacture.

' 'I'he invention is susceptible of further variations and in Figures 9and 10, I have shown a holder comprising an elongated rectangular block4I to the ends of which are secured spaced parallel iiexible arms 42carrying at their free ends adjustable pivots or trunnions 43 engageablewithin recesses in the ends of a spindle 44 having at one end a fixedsleeve 45 and at its other end a slidable collar 46 held in place by aset screw 41. This form of spindle is almost identical with the oneshown in the first described form of the invention except for thetrunnionarrangement and the members 45 and 48 have tapered portions 48engaging within the ends of the spool.

The spindle is held properly between the arms 42v by virtue of theprovision of a set screw 43 threaded through a strip 50 secured to oneend of the block 4I outwardly of the arm 42, this set screw beingengageable with the arm 42 for holding both arms in proper supportingrelation to the spindle. This modiication is shown in identically thesame manner as the above described ones, the only dierences being in themechanical construction.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will beapparent that I have thus provided a very simple means whereby the atribbon type oftinsel may be successfully and easily used for producingtinsel fabrics and that, moreover, without it being necessary as apreliminary step to wind the tinsel onto the usual bobbins, it beingknown that such winding twists the tinsel and seriously weakens it.v'I'he great advantage in using this ilat ribbon or al1 metal type oftinsel in contradistinction to that type wrapped about a thread core isthat actually this plain type of tinsel costs only one-fourth of theother variety which is imported and which is necessarily more expensive.It will therefore be obvious that by the employment ofmy novel mechanismand method fabric of the tinsel type may be produced more quickly andeasily and at a fraction of the cost of that made in the usual way andwith the other type of tinsel thread.

While I have shown and described several em- -bodiments of the inventiontogether with one type of fabric, it should be understood that this isentirely for purposes of illustration as the right is reserved to makeall such changes as.will constitute no departure from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended. i

Having thus described the inventiomI claim:

l. In a knitting machine of the rotary circular type provided at its topwith pairs of rods. means for supporting a spool of metallic tinsel ofthe fiat ribbon type having a width greater than its thickness incontradistinction to the type helically wound upon a core, said meanscomprising a frame gravitationally engageable upon a pair of said rodsand having spaced resilient arms, a spindle rotatably journaled betweensaid arms and adapted to carry the spool upon which the tinsel thread iswound, and means for varying the position oi' the arms with respect toeach other.

2. In a knitting machine of therotary circular type provided at its topwith pairs of rods, means for supporting a spool of metallic tinsel ofthe fiat ribbon type having a width greater than its thickness incontradistinction to the type helically wound upon a core, said meanscomprising a frame gravitationally engageable upon a pair of said rodsand having spaced resilient arms, a spindle rotatably journaled bctweensaid arms and adapted to carry the spool upon which'the tinsel thread iswound, and screw 5 means for varying the frictional engagement of thearms with the spindle. l

3. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of rods, said machine being adapted to lknit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged Wales or loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising a` supporting' membergravitationally engageable upon a pair of said rods and having resilientarms, aspindle 1o- 15 cated between said arms, trunnion means rotatablysupporting said spindlev with respect to said arms, said spindle beingadapted to support a spool upon which is Wound a tinsel thread of the atand untwisted ribbon type, and means 20 for varying the position of saidarms with respect to each other.

4. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of rods, said machine being adapted to 25knit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged wales or loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising a supporting membergravitationally engageable upon a pair of said rods and having resilientarms, a spindle located 30 between said arms, trunnion means rotatablysupporting said spindle with respect to said arms, said spindle beingadapted to support a spool upon which is wound a tinsel thread of thefiat and untwisted ribbon type, and means for vary- 35 ing the positionof said arms with respect to each other, said spindle including a memberrelatively fixed with respect thereto and further including a memberslidably adjustable with respect thereto, both of said members havingta- L10 pered portions engageable with the endsof the 50 ber locatedwithin the coniines of said first named U-shaped member, saidassembledrst and second named members being gravitationally engageable Yupon apair of said rods, a spindle located between the arms of said secondnamed 55 U-shaped member, screw means carried by said first namedU-shaped member and engageable with the adjacent arm of said secondnamed U- shaped member for varying the frictional engagement o'f thesecond named U-shaped memco ber with said spindle.

6. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of rods, said machine being adapted toknit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged wales or loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising an inverted U-shapedsupporting member, a resilient U-shaped member located within theconfines of said rst named U-shaped member, said assembled first 70' andsecond named members being gravitationally engageable upon a pair ofsaid rods, a spindle located between the arms of said second named U-shaped member, screw means carried by said first named U-shaped memberand engageable with 75 the adjacent arm of said second named U-shapedmember for varying the frictional engagement of the second namedU-shaped member with said spindle, said spindle carrying a xed conicalhead and a second conical head longitudinally adjustably mountedthereon.

7. An lattachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of rods, said machine being adapted toknit a conventional fabric consisting oi"` interengaged wales or loopsin successive rows, said attachment comprising an inverted U-shapedsupporting member, a resilient `U-shaped member located within theconnes of said first named U-shaped member, said assembled first andsecond named members being gravitationally engageable upon a pair ofsaid rods, a spindle located between the arms of said second namedU-shaped member, screw means carried by said irst named U- shaped memberand engageable with the adjacent arm of said second named U- shapedmember for varying the frictional engagement of the second namedU-shaped member with said spindle, said spindle including a fixed headwith a tapered surface and carrying a longitudinally slidably mountedhead having a revers'ely extending tapered surface.

8. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of rods, said machine being adaptedv toknit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged wales or loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising an inverted -U-shapedsupporting member, a resilient U-shaped member located within theconfines of said first named U-shaped member, said assembled first andsecond named members being gravitationally engageable upon a pair ofsaid rods, a spindle 1ocated between the arms of said second namedU-shaped member, screw means carried by said first named U-shaped memberand engageable with the adjacent arm of said second named U-shapedmember for varying the frictional engagement of the second namedU-shaped member with said spindle, and means carried by the assembledU-shaped members engaging said rods for maintaining the proper assembledrelation with respect thereto.

9. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top withA pairs of rods, said machine being adapted toknit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged wales or loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising an inverted U-shapedsupporting member a resilient U-shaped member located within theconfines of said rst named U-shaped member, said assembled first andsecond named members being gravitationally engageable upon a pair ofsaid rods, a spindle located between the arms of said second namedU-shaped member, screw means carried by said first named U-shaped memberand engageable with the adjacent arm of said second named U-shapedmember for varying the frictional engagement of the second namedU-shaped member with said spindle, and a pair of leaf springs securedupon the arms of said second named U-shaped member and having anbgularlydefiected free ends bearing against said rods for maintaining theassembled U-shaped members in proper relation with respect to the rods.

10. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with pairs of'rods, said machine being adapted toknit a conventional fabric consisting of interengaged wales orl loops insuccessive rows, said attachment comprising a supporting membergravitationaily engageable upon a pair of said rods and having resilientarms, a spindle journaled between said arms, a strip carriedby `saidsupporting member and overlying one of said arms, and screw meanscarried by said strip and engaging the adjacent arm for varying thei'rictional engagement of the resilient arms with the spindle journaledtherebetween.

11. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its' top with pairs of rods, comprising a U-shapedsupporting member gravitationally engageable upon a pair of said rods ininverted position, means between the free ends of ,the arms of saidirame for supporting a thread-carrying spool, means for mov'- ing saidarms relatively to each other, and means secured within the frame andengageable with sald'rods formaintaining the frame in position withrespect to the rods.

12. An attachment for a knitting machine of the rotary circular typeprovided at its top with ;j

pairs of rods, said attachment comprising a substantially U-shaped framehaving its bight i

